It is widely agreed that there is a direct relationship between sugar consumption and caries. Both total sugar consumption and between meal consumption have been shown to be important factors in cary development. Sugar is also thought to be an important pathogenic determinant for other oral lesions, including dental plaque and calculus, and gingival disease.
While caries have declined in frequency in most industrialized counties during the past 20 years, about 25% of the population of even those countries continues to be at high risk for caries (J. Am. Dent. Ass. 123:68 (1992)). Numerous measures have been used to control dental caries. These include fluoride treatment (of drinking water and teeth), pit and fissure sealants, vaccines, and "substrate modification". This last category includes non-sucrose sweeteners that are purported to have a specific anti-cariogenic effect, such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol and glycerol. Xylitol in particular is used in dentifrices such as mouthwashes and chewing gum. However, at best, such non-sucrose sweeteners have a modest effect, since they do little to remove the sucrose and other cariogenic sugars present. The present invention, by contrast, provides for the removal of sugars from the oral cavity, thereby preventing the development of caries and various other oral lesions.